//------------------------------//
// Episode 169: Now, Where Were We? 
// Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls 
// by thatguyvex 
//------------------------------//


Episode 169: Now, Where Were We?


A full moon sat ominous amid a dusting of clouds, casting its mystic silver grace upon the snoring suburban rooftops of Canterlot City. Citizens slept the night hours away, or watched late night shows upon glowing tv or phone screens. They all, by and large, sought to distract themselves from the growing awareness of oddity and mishap that pervaded their waking hours. More and more the fine, cosmopolitan folk of Canterlot City knew that something was amiss with their beloved town. The shocking violence of too many “accidental pipe explosions”, the gnawing commonality of “that person went missing”, and the hand wringing tendency to know someone who “saw something weird that one time” were all factors had begun to lead folk to the sense that more that mere misfortune was occurring behind the scenes.

Despite this, some had taken note of a decline in such unpleasantness over the past several days, as if a cloak of protective comfort had somehow been cast over the beleaguered town. The damages done not so long ago in the downtown district were being repaired at a rate one might describe as suspicious, if not for the fortuitousness of it all. Rumors abounded of several rich families, old money of the city’s founding, sparing no expense in paying crack construction crews to hasten a return to normalcy. Streets repaved, windows replaced, walls raised, all in the span of three or four days of mysteriously swift work.

It put some at ease, and raised questions from others, while some simply kept a closer eye out of their windows at night, wondering if they might catch sight of... certain rumors. The kind of rumors most laughed off. Ghosts and phantoms, cloaked figures, and costumed strangers, flitting about at all hours? Invisible beasts, howling in the night? Most chose to ignore and keep their heads down, business as usual in Canterlot City.

While others, others believed, and either watched with anticipating or dread, depending on the mindset. And in some cases, belief wasn’t a factor, because they’d lived through the truth. Such was the case of the young girl with skin the color of mint leaves, with disheveled, darker green hair that hung uncombed down her shoulders. A stripped brown sweater kept the night chill off her alongside faded jeans and a pair of unremarkable tennis shoes. Indeed the most remarkable factor about Wallflowers appearance was her utter lack of remarkable traits, quite suited to social camouflage, a regular old octopus of the people. She didn’t take any pride in her ability to be unnoticed, for she didn’t see it as a gift but rather an iron cross on her back.

She was a living contradiction of desperately wanting to be seen and heard by others while simultaneously being terrified of that very same thing. Her only comfort in life was her gardening, a hobby practiced in secret in a location only she knew of. Up until recently life was a boring malaise of day to day survival of a young person’s most deadly jungle; high school. She was no top predator, there, but at least had been “getting by” via the aforementioned octopus-like ability to blend into the scenery. Until Sunset Shimmer had ruined that streak by taking notice, and by extension, making Wallflower’s life a living hell for the duration of two whole school years. After which, inexplicably, Sunset had turned over a new leaf and become the school’s rising icon. 

Wallflower had not grasped at all the logic of that transition, and it had become something of a bitter obsession with her. An obsession that might have led to more than one unforgiving fantasy or two concerning ways to get back at the bizarrely popular Sunset Shimmer and expose her as a fraud for all to see. 

A plan that had died on the vine before ripening into anything solid due to the rather insane turn of events at Camp Everfree. Now Wallflower was simply baffled, horrified, and quite uncertain of what to do, given that the girl she’d been obsessively plotting against had been shown in no uncertain terms to be a literal superhero who, alongside those friends of hers, had saved not only Wallflower’s life, but the lives of the entire city.

It made any notion of payback for bullying, however nasty that bullying might have been, come off as just a tad petty, even to Wallflower. However rather than become less focused on Sunset Shimmer, the girl had only grown more fixated upon Sunset and her circle of friends. She wanted to understand what was going on. Maybe they’d know what this mysterious stone she found in her garden was all about? Not long after discovering it, she’d learned of its disturbing properties, allowing the holder to yank out memories from others and store them in the stone. It was useful for getting around undetected, she supposed, but she didn’t have any idea where it had come from. But it had to be connected to Sunset Shimmer and all the weird happenings, right? 

Even if getting back at Sunset wasn’t really a goal anymore, Wallflower still wanted to confront her about everything. But finding her was proving to be a challenge. Summer had come and school was out, so there was no way to find her there. Wallflower had tried looking up Sunset’s address, but all that had turned up was a burned out apartment that had apparently had some kind of ‘gas leak’, which given what she’d seen at Camp Everfree, Wallflower didn’t buy that story one bit.

So, quite aimless, Wallflower had taken to wandering the streets during the evening, only starting the long walk home when it got to full dark out. She kept trying to frequent places teenagers might hang out during summer. Shopping malls, theaters, parks, anyplace open past dusk. So far all her efforts had garnered her were very sore feet and a lot of frustration.

I don’t even care about making her friend’s forget her or whatever. I just want to ask her what the heck all of this is about and if this weird stone has anything to do with it.

The ‘Memory Stone’ as she’d come to think of it was pretty plain, a simple hand sized rock of smooth oval shape. It had shallow carvings in it, the middle shaped like an eye, and a set of triangles above it and small swirls below it. It was shockingly easy to use. Wallflower had just thought it was a neat rock until it had responded to her desire to have people forget her embarrassing social blunders, at which point the stone had just seemed to activate at her will. Freaky, but somewhat handy. She’d had gotten rid of it already if she wasn’t afraid someone else might come across it and who knew what the stone might do in the hands of someone with zero scruples? A criminal could have a field day with this thing!

But Sunset Shimmer had to know what it was. All the weird stuff had only started happening when Sunset had shown up in Canterlot City. If Wallflower just handed it over to her she could wash her hands of all of this and just... go back to being unnoticed. 

“Assuming I could find her. Ugh, why is it she was always around when I didn’t want to have to deal with her, but now that I’m trying to find her, she’s up and become a ghost!”

There was no one around to hear her little outburst, the suburban alleyway she was walking down quite devoid of people. There was a dark barking in the distance, but that was about it. Looking around, Wallflower shrugged off her frustration and felt a bit of cold biting at her that had nothing to do with the weather. This alley was a shortcut that got her closer to home, but it was suddenly looking a lot darker and less friendly than she remembered. 

All those rumors of invisible monsters. I know they’re not all rumors now. not after Everfree. It’s safe, though, isn’t it?

Gulping, she resumed her walk down the alley, passing by a set of garbage cans. Just as she past them, she heard a crash and nearly jumped out of her shoes as she spun around to find one of the cans had fallen over. She saw a cat skitter away down the alley, and for a second thought maybe the cat had knocked the garbage can over. However her eyes were drawn upward slightly by an odd haze in the air, and that cold feeling from before intensified in an instant. 

“W-who’s there?” she stammered, backing up. Something was definitely there! She couldn’t really see it, but then she didn’t really need to. That foreboding haze was enough, because it was all to similar in a chilling manner to the sensation she’d felt at Everfree. 

Oh God, it’s one of them! N-need to run!

She told herself that, but her knees were locked up and the rest of her body wasn’t obeying her. The haze advanced, and to her shock it grew more solid. A figure of immense muscle and gray flesh took shape in front of her, bulging like a gorilla, but standing upon the clawed legs of something more like a lion. The face of the thing was covered in a horned mask of pale white, shaped into the form of a leering chameleon. It stood more than twice her height, and filled the alleyway with it’s menacing aura, one that nearly choked Wallflower as she sank to her knees, already crying.

To her further horror, the thing spoke, in a frightfully amiable, if grating tone.

“That’s a nice face you’re making. Always is worth it to reveal myself, just for the reactions. A lot of Hollows can’t do this, but my power is oh so flexible. I can make my reiatsu all but invisible, or even show myself off to those without a lick of spiritual ability. Like you, little girl.”

“W-w-w-w-” she was trying to speak, but nothing was coming out, and the thing let out a tittering and jubilant laugh.

“Wow, you’re really in the dark, huh girlie? Figured some of you locals would’ve caught on by now. Oh well, guess you weren’t considered special enough to get the low down. Weird, considering what you’re carrying. That rock of yours has got that magic the Espada are so keen on. I can advance from Adjuchas to Arrancar if I bring it to one of them. Grogar, or perhaps that newbie Adagio who’s got everyone’s tounges flapping. Granted this city has some nasty defenders, but I’ve made sure there’s some distractions running around to draw their attention while I handle you.”

“Th.. the stone?” Wallflower’s brain finally managed to fire off enough neurons that weren’t soaked in fear to actually think for two seconds. Her chest was tight and she felt as if she could barely breathe. Fear clogged her like frozen tar, but her hand still fumbled for where the Memory Stone was kept tucked away in a shoulder carry bag she kept on her. 

“Ah, that’s the one,” the monstrous thing said as it loomed over her the moment Wallflower brought the stone out. She could see a sliver of the pale moon through the hole in the creature’s immense chest. “I can feel its irritating buzz of magic, but not from very far away. How lucky for me I came across you while snooping around this city, eh? Not only can I give the Espada intel, but this little gift too. And as an added bonus...”

A thick meatshield of a hand rose, pointed fingertips poised downward like knives aimed for Wallflower’s heart.

“I get a nice snack for the road. Good night, girlie. I’ll make it clean and quick.”

The thought sparked in her mind that maybe the Memory Stone might work against these strange masked monsters, but she was too petrified to act. All she could do was watch that claw descend and hope that the creature wasn’t lying, and that it would be quick. 

Then her whole world just shifted. She felt wind, an immense sensation of vertigo, and surprisingly a warm set of arms around her that were holding her tightly. Wallflower blinked into a soft feminine chest covered in dark cloth and abruptly pulled her head back in stark confusion. “Wha-wha-wha-”

“Whew, looks like I made it just in time,” said a voice familiar to Wallflower, although she was used to hearing prideful snobbery in it rather than kind relief and soothing calm, “You okay?”

Wallflower’s brain managed to align with her babbling mouth long enough for her to blurt out, “What are you doing here, Sunset Shimmer!?”

It was indeed Sunset who was now holding Wallflower, one arm around her waist, another around her shoulders, in a protective and entirely too close hug for Wallflower’s sense of personal space! They had somehow instantly moved about fifty feet down the alley from where the masked beast was, it’s own clawed hand piercing the space Wallflower had been frozen in terror a mere eyeblink ago.

Sunset Shimmer was wearing a set of black robes with wide sleeves and baggy pants that covered most of her body, save for a pair of oddly styled sandals and socks that reminded Wallflower of some samurai movies she’d seen. Furthermore, there were odd, white leather shoulder pads on the robe that bore red straps that went around Sunset’s shoulder to connect to a belt around her waist that bore a distinct cherry red scabbard that housed a katana. Seemingly merged with the left breast of the robes was a white chevron shaped patch bearing a stylized skull emblem. Finally, Sunset was wearing a pair of black, fingerless gloves, which Wallflower might not have even noticed had Sunset not been holding her so close!

As if suddenly realizing the proximity, Sunset smiled in a way that was far too relaxed for Wallflower to comprehend, and let Wallflower go. “Oh, sorry, just had to hold you tight to extend my reiatsu around you so the Flash Step didn’t hurt you. Sure you’re okay? The Hollow didn’t touch you?”

“N...no,” Wallflower said, feeling lightheaded, her hand still clutching the Memory Stone. “Why are you...? I mean, what is all of... this!?”

“Yeeeah, kind of a big ask, there. Why don’t we pin that until I take out the day’s trash,” Sunset replied in a tone light as a breeze. She turned towards the monster, striding one step forward so she was planting herself like a shield between it and Wallflower. There was a soft, smooth ring of metal in the air as Sunset’s hand went to the hilt of her sword and drew the katana in a flourish that glinted its steel off of the moonlight.

The creature, the ‘Hollow’ as Sunset had called it, stood rigidly still, as if it was... afraid. Wallflower wasn’t sure what to make of all of this. She knew Sunset and her friends had powers, but she’d been barely conscious during the later half of the events at Everfree due to her injuries. She didn’t really know the extent of what had happened. This monster looked powerful, what with it’s size and thick, corded muscles. Yet somehow as Sunset casually started to approach it, the girl of fire kissed red and yellow hair looked like the predator, rather than the prey.

“Tch, the rumors about this city are pretty wild,” the Hollow said, voice almost shaking but filled with that boisterousness of the forcibly confident, “But I’m thinking they’re exaggerated. Supposedly one of you beat the Tenth Espada, but sounds like luck to me. All those lesser Hollows I kicked into coming here aren’t dead yet, so maybe you girls aren’t all your cracked up to be, eh?”

“Assume whatever you like, Hollow. Whatever makes you feel better. So, you’re the idiot that’s responsible for a bunch of mooks showing up in my city tonight? Guess I’ll thank you for that.”

Sunset’s words clearly caused confusion as the chameleon mask tilted along with the Hollow’s head as it asked, “Huh? The hell you thanking me for?”

“Well, the kids needed some practical training. They’re still getting a handle on their Fullbrings. Oh, and Chappy couldn’t shut up about wanting to test out her new gigai on a real Hollow, so it was kind of convenient then all these lesser Hollows just suddenly popped up out of nowhere. Rarity is playing chaperone, so I’m not too worried, and the other girls got the rest of the city covered. Still...”

A dangerous light entered Sunset’s eyes, making them shine like sapphire flames. “Didn’t take a genius to work out this wasn’t a coincidence. So I made sure to scour every inch of the city I could, looking for any trace of the asshole stirring trouble up in my home. Your reiatsu was hard to spot, I’ll give you that. Didn’t pinpoint you until you decided to reveal yourself to your would-be victim. Now all that’s left is to put you down, but I did want to ask you who sent you. Grogar?”

“Hmph, nobody ‘sent’ me! I just smelled opportunity and made a move. And now that the ‘Substitute Soul Reaper’ is here, maybe Grogar or even Tirek would be impressed if I just brought them you instead of a magic rock!”

He snapped his clawed fingers, and Wallflower gasped as she felt an odd pressure pressing down on her. Her vision of things remained hazy, distorted, but she thought she saw what appeared to be black holes yawning open in the air, immense in size. 

For Sunset, who had a clear view of everything, she herself saw a quartet of huge Garganta portals opening in the air above the Adjuchas-class Hollow. From within came towering forms in dark cloaks, covering their humongous and pointed Hollow bodies. Four Gillian-class Hollows touched down amid the backyards of the suburban alley, thankfully not actually stepping on any houses, but probably scaring the crap out of more than a few residents with the now all-too familiar rumble of their shaking steps.

The Adjuchas with the chameleon mask laughed as he sprouted long, imp-like wings and flew up into the air, “Had these big boys in reserve in case one of you girls showed up. Always plan ahead, right?”

At his gesture, the Gillians all creaked their necks downward and opened their gaping mouths, whereupon the condensed forms of pulsing crimson Cero spheres began to form.

Sunset just... looked at them with an unimpressed expression of barely restrained sarcasm. “Oh no, four Ceros. Whatever will I do? Surely you have outwitted me, you big bad Hollow you. Truly how can I ever hope to turn the tables in this unprecedented situation that I’ve definitely never been in before?”

“H-hey! No sarcasm while dying!” screamed the Adjuchas, “Fire, all of you fire! Incinerate her!”

Blindly complying with the mindless obedience of the cowed, each of the four Gillians sent forth their Ceros. Four pale rose beams of light converged down at Sunset, still standing in the middle of the alley with Wallflower behind her looking on in stunned silence. 

Sunset just grinned up at the beams and with one hand she swung her Zanpaktou in a sharp backhand gesture that cut a half circle arc in the air above her. The air rippled, and Wallflower felt herself bowled over by a wall of wind pressure. As if a great hand had made a sweeping motion, the four distinct beams of coherent red destruction were parted like water. Their energies were dispersed upwards into the sky harmlessly, leaving all still and silent in the alley save for the Adjuchas-class Hollow’s sputtering, wordless disbelief.

“Starting to rethink your life choices? Or afterlife choices, I guess. Either way-”

Sunset’s voice echoed oddly as she instantly moved from the alley to a point in the sky above the Gillians, her Flash Step so swift that it didn’t register on anyone present until she was done speaking, “-I really don’t like being taken lightly.”

There was a terrible ripping sound as one of the Gillians’s heads simply... disintegrated, falling apart into dozens of pieces from neat cuts that appeared upon it without any trace of the strikes that made them. As if just now becoming aware of the danger in their midst, the relatively mindless Gillians reacted with instinctual violence. One howled as it turned it’s ponderously large body around and tried to snatch Sunset out of the air with its jaws. This simply prompted the girl to casually face the giant Hollow and raise her Zanpaktou up above her head with one hand. She then brought it down, not fast, or even seemingly all that hard. But that one motion created a glinting pressure wave that passed through the Gillian. It kept coming, trying to snap it’s jaws around her and swallow Sunset whole... but it went past her, and in it’s confusion the Gillian began to dissipate, not understanding that the reason it went past Sunset was because it’s body had been cleanly bisected down the middle, with both halves falling to either side of her before vanishing into ash.

Of the two remaining Gillians, one extended from within it’s dark expanse one of it’s massive bone white arms. It swung the tree-sized limb in a wide arc at Sunset, like a human trying to swat a mosquito out of the air. Her eyes flicked towards the oncoming hand, and she turned in a quick spin on one heel, kicking out with her other leg just as Gillian’s hand reached her. There was a shattering noise as the Hollow’s hand up to the wrist was torn off by the impact of Sunset’s kick, and the Gillian howled. The howl only lasted a moment, however, as Sunset aimed a finger at it and a bead of white spiritual energy sparked at it’s tip.

“Hado Number Four: Byakurai.”

The spear of pure white lightning pierced right through the Gillian’s skull, and it fell backwards, it’s body vanishing into dark motes before it fell completely. 

At this point the “flight” portion of the fight or flight instinct won out in the last Gillian, which reached out with a hand not for Sunset, but to grasp the air and tear open a Garganta portal that it began to step through while howling in abject fear. Sunset glanced at it, but showed no real urge to go after it. Far as she was concerned if it was running, the “mindless” Gillian was showing the most smarts out of it’s companions. 

“Get back here you coward!” shouted the Adjuchas as the Gillian vanished into the Garganta, “Damn worthless Gillians!”

“You ought to do the same, or are you really that blind to the power difference here?” Sunset said, bouncing her Zanpakout on her shoulder, “I’m not cruel. Tuck your tail and scamper out of my city, and I’ll forget your ugly face and we can call it a day.”

The Hollow hesitated, before it’s yellow glowing eyes narrowed in fuming anger and... some manner of desperation. “No way. Hueco Mundo is brewing a shitstorm and only the strongest are going to survive. I bag you, I’m in with the winning team. You kill me, I’m no worse off than if I got picked off by another Hollow, so bring it, you prideful bitch. I’ve got nothing to lose!”

He vanished, and Sunset knew it was no Sonido, but rather an application of that irritating stealth power he’d used to slip around Canterlot City undetected so readily. It wasn’t as if she and the girls hadn’t considerably stepped up patrols lately, so there was no denying this Adjuchas’ ability was, in it’s way, kind of impressive. However now that she knew he was close, sharpening her spiritual senses to the area around her revealed his stealth power was far from perfect.

If she and the girls had dealt with a guy like this early on in their own development, he’d have been trouble. Now? The subtle fluctuations in the air, the tiny reflections of minute Hollow spirit particles, and the faint increase in killing intent all revealed the Adjuchas to Sunset well before he snuck behind her and tried to stab his claws towards her back.

She simply spun around and made another precise if casual strike with her unreleased Zanpaktou. There was a pained howl as the air shimmered and the Adjuchas appeared once more, clutching his missing right arm which had been severed at the elbow. His chameleon mask opened wide as his roar, “Aaaagh, hell! Eat this!”

His mouth aimed at her, and much like the Gillians a burning ruby sphere of Hollow energy coalesced, denser than the Gillians had been by a fair margin. The beam, when fired, was wider and bathed the suburban city block in a crimson hue. Sunset readied her Zanpaktou in a horizontal stance, taking it in both hands, then shot forward, the blade extended. She plowed through the Cero like a ship breaking through a wave. The destructive energies parted around her and her sword as she thrust it through to the Adjuchas, and the Zanpaktou pierced right through his mouth and out the back of his head.

“Guh!” the Adjuchas choked, gagging on the blade’s steel. Sunset just sighed as the Hollow’s body began to fade into ashen motes.

“Nothing personal. Well, kinda personal. Bright side? No Hell gate. Enjoy Soul Society, and try not to be such a creepy bastard in your next life.”

She took a second to take a deep breath and assess whether there were any additional threats. Satisfied that everything was all clear, she gently sheathed her Zanpaktou, patting the hilt of it as she said with a hint of apology, “Oh don’t be that way, girls. I’ll release you when it’s worth it, but guys like that aren’t challenging enough to bother.”

With that matter settled, Sunset turned to look down at Wallflower, who was just then getting back up after having been knocked down by the air pressure from Sunset’s deflection of the Cero barrage. “Oh! Uh, sorry about that!”

Sunset let herself drop from the sky and landed on light feet right in front of Wallflower, who nearly leaped back from the other girl, eyes wide and wild. Sunset could see the raw confusion and fear in Wallflower, and felt a stab of intense sympathy as Wallflower started to babble.

“The, wha...who with... I mean, that thing, and the you, all of you, with the sword and the wind...”

“I know, you’re probably feeling way confused right now. Um... I have seen you at school, right? You look familiar.” Sunset was rather having a hard time placing this girl’s name. Something about the green, slightly unkempt hair, and that distinct striped brown sweater was tickling her brain, so she felt fairly certain she had seen her around Canterlot High, but for the life of her she couldn’t dredge up a name. 

Oh well, when in doubt, introductions.

“I’m Sunset Shimmer, in case we haven’t met. If we had, I’m sorry if I don’t recall it.”

She extended a hand, knowing she was probably taking this too casually, but also not knowing any better way to go about this. She fully understood it if this girl was scared out of her mind or having a bit of a breakdown. While most of the students at school now understood exactly what was going on with the Hollows, at least to a degree, there were still a few who’d either not quite gotten the memo, or may have simply not processed it all fully yet. Given this girl’s reactions, she could easily be in either camp. 

To Sunset’s bemusement and genuine concern, the girl backed away from her proffered hand, shaking her head while breathing hard. 

Oh crap, I’ve gotten so used to all of this stuff with Hollows I’ve forgotten how hard this can hit for people who aren’t. Sunset’s heart went out to the girl and she turned her offered handshake into a simple calming raise of both of her palms, tuning her voice to a mellow and soothing tone. “It’s alright. You’re alright. I’m not going to hurt you, and the monsters are gone. Look, I get this is weird. Like, extremely weird. And also scary. But trust me, I’m one of the good guys, and I just want to make sure you’re okay and get home safely.”

“I d-don’t understand...” Wallflower’s head pounded, the fear and adrenaline still hammering her. She was almost as afraid of Sunset as she’d been that creature, although the fear had nothing to do with a sense of physical danger. She believed Sunset’s words, but Wallflower’s fear was purely rooted in personal anxiety. For all that she’d wanted to find Sunset and get answers, she was equally terrified of what those answers would be. Now that she was here, face to face with Sunset Shimmer, the thought pervading Wallflower’s mind was; run away, run away, run and hide!

She clutched the Memory Stone tightly to her chest, wondering if she should use it. All it’d take is a moment and she could erase Sunset’s memory of this encounter entirely. But then what would she do? She’d never learn anything if she just kept fleeing whenever she felt out of her depth, which was literally constantly. 

As Wallflower teetered on that choice between following through on her original desire to get answers from Sunset, or using the Memory Stone to disappear, the situation changed as a new voice spoke.

“Sunset, it’s you! I sensed a dense concentration of Hollow energy, and, oddly, Equestrian magic, so I came as fast as I could.”

Wallflower wheeled about to see another young girl around Sunset’s age walking down the alley towards them. This girl had purple skin and darker violet hair with a pink stripe, and was wearing somewhat nerdish glasses along with a highly distinct and military styled set of pure white clothing that looked to Wallflower like some manner of uniform. Strangely, a purple dog padded along at the girl’s side.

“Hey Twilight, hey Spike,” Sunset said, giving both the new girl and the dog a casual wave, “Yeah I just offed the ringleader behind all the lesser Hollows popping up tonight. Adjuchas-class. Wasn’t any real trouble, but he had this stealth ability that let him slip around unnoticed until he went after the girl here.”

“Well that would certainly explain the other reiatsu spikes I’ve been sensing,” Twilight said, approaching and adjusting her glasses as she looked Wallflower over in such a way that made Wallflower immediately even more self conscious than she already was, “I sent out my team to clean up stragglers, but looks like our friends have most everything covered. Silver Spoon is with the younger team, and just reported to me they’re still engaged, but are holding their own.”

“With Rarity on overwatch I’m sure they’ll be fine, but I’m worried about Chappy going overboard,” Sunset said, then shook her head and looked at Wallflower, “Um, if you’re feeling up to it, I really could use your name. Not wanting to be pushy or anything, but ‘green girl’ just doesn’t seem like the best nickname, you know?”

Her mind now too frazzled to resist, she simply whispered, “W-Wallflower.”

“Wallflower,” Sunset’s smile returned threefold, “I’m happy to make your acquaintance. My friend here is Twilight Sparkle, and that’s her dog, Spike.”

“S’up,” Spike said, and Wallflower waved at him without thinking about it. Then, a second later, she blinked and realized a dog just talked to her.

Wallflower promptly proceeded to faint, collapsing in a boneless heap on the ground, the events of the evening finally just becoming too much for her mind to keep processing. Spike grimaced and said, “Nice to meet you too, lady.”

“Spike, what have I told you about casually talking around people who don’t know you, yet?” Twilight admonished while going over to kneel next to the fallen Wallflower, gently checking her over. “Well, she didn’t crack her head, at least. Sunset, do you know why the Adjuchas was after her? They went through a lot of trouble sending so many lesser Hollows around town to distract us, so it must have had a good reason.”

“Was wondering that myself, and at a guess, I’m going to say it’s that weird stone she’s been holding,” Sunset said, indicating the strange oval rock that she’d noticed Wallflower clutching so tightly. “I didn’t hear everything that Hollow jerk said to her before he tried to kill her and I had to step in, but it sounded like he thought the rock was special. Magic.”

“I can already confirm that much,” Twilight said, peering at the stone and not touching it, but holding her hand above it as she closed her eyes in focus, “I can feel magic radiating off of it. I’m a bit surprised you didn’t sense this earlier.”

“W-well, I’m a bit out of practice with traditional Equestrian magic, Twilight. Haven’t been a unicorn in a long while. I felt something, I just couldn’t really get a read on what. The magic feels off somehow,” Sunset said, a tad defensively as she crossed her arms under her chest. Twilight gave her friend an apologetic look and nodded.

“I understand. With Midnight’s help I’ve got a pretty strong handle on magic now, and this stone practically glows with it. But you’re right, the magic feels strange. Subtle. Midnight doesn’t recognize it either, but it’s definitely Equestrian. It feels almost like it’s designed to be hard to detect, like it has a masking spell on it.”

“Great, another piece of home that got tossed into the human world by somepony who wasn’t thinking through the consequences of their actions,” Sunset said, heaving out a sigh, “I swear if I ever get a time machine I’m going back a thousand years in Equestrian history to personally smack anypony upside the head who thought it was a good idea to banish random magical creatures and/or items to a planet with no defense against or knowledge of magic. Who knows what this stone does, and Wallflower here probably just picked it up without any idea at all.”

Twilight’s face lit up with a light chuckle that didn’t last long as she gingerly picked up the stone, “Don’t be too hard on the people of your world, Sunset. It’s possible they didn’t know the portals they banished things through led to an inhabited world. Sometimes we all wish we could just shove our problems into a hole to be forgotten.”

“Don’t I know it?” Sunset said, then moved over to get a closer look at the stone, “Odd markings.”

“Do you recognize any of them?”

“Nope. Artifacts weren’t really my specialty, even when I was a unicorn. Looks old, though. Not modern Equestrian symbols. Definitely has that ‘thousand years ago’ vibe, if you ask me. Wonder what it does?”

At that question, Twilight gave Sunset a meaningful look, “Unknown magic is dangerous, but if you’re okay with it I can take this back to my lab for study. I promise I won’t do more than a few basic tests with Midnight’s help to see if we can work out what the stone’s function is.”

The way she said it had a fair amount of trepidation, and Sunset put a reassuring hand on Twilight’s shoulder, “Twilight, chill. I trust you. I know you wouldn’t use something like this for bad ends, even if you find out what it does and it turns out to be, I don’t know, some kind of crazy magic nuke.”

“I’m thankful for that, Sunset. I know that as a Quincy you girls might worry about what I might use magic for in regards to the Quincy as a whole.”

“Well we’re working on ending that whole damn war, aren’t we?” Sunset said, “And Sombra’s agreed to the meeting, so it’s a step in the right direction.”

At mention of the upcoming meeting, the official declaration of the Canterlot Spirit Coalition, Twilight perked up, although there was still a great deal of tension in her eyes, “Has there been a reply from the Gotei 13’s Captain Commander?”

“We just heard back from Clover,” Sunset replied, “And sounds like Scorpan is open to it. His return message was a tad... er... terse, but sounds like he’ll be there. Going to be an interesting day.”

“If by interesting you mean ‘terrifying and ulcer inducing’ then yes, I’m in complete agreement,” said Twilight, her shoulders tense as iron boards and her smile forced past a tide of unease. Not that Sunset blamed her. She was nervous as well, her stomach all but acidic over the upcoming meeting that would be taking place. With the leaders of both Soul Society and the Quincy in one place, she, her friends, and Discord would be doing their best to assert their place as an equal faction; the Canterlot Spirit Coalition. In so doing the intent would be to reveal in full Zero Division’s less than scrupulous actions, and in so doing hopefully bring Quincy and Soul Reaper together in something resembling a cease fire, if not outright alliance.

As for the Hollows, well...

“Speaking of hearing things from people, what’s the situation with Adagio?” Sunset asked, voice hopeful and a tad trepidation filled at the same time. 

 Twilight didn’t immediately respond, instead gesturing at the fallen Wallflower, “I've heard little from Adagio's end, but that strikes me as normal for her. At any rate, perhaps we should talk and move at the same time? Do you want to take her to my place or yours?”

“Good question. Normally I’d say your home would be safer and involve fewer questions for her, but she seemed like she actually had a lot of questions to ask,” Sunset said, leaning down to carefully pick Wallflower up in her arms, having no trouble carrying the petite girl like a tired little sister she was about to tuck into bed. “I’ll take her to Discord’s. When she wakes up I’ll try to ease her into whatever answers she wants. Not like most the school doesn’t already know. Heck we’ve got Bon Bon and Lyra organizing neighborhood patrols now.”

“I’ve noticed,” Twilight said, her eyes glinting with curiosity, “Very well organized patrols, too.”

“Bon Bon seems to really take care of things. It’s a little uncanny,” Sunset said, not fully voicing her suspicions on just how good Bon Bon seemed to be at organizing the rest of the students into groups to report any possible Hollow activity in the city. Or any odd activity at all, really. There was still a strong Quincy and Soul Reaper presence in Canterlot, but only because certain members of either faction had the go ahead from Discord and Sunset to be present as long as they didn’t engage in any fights with one another. This included Twilight and her research team from Crystal Prep, along with a select few of the Eleventh and Tenth Division Soul Reapers who had Sunset’s trust.

Which reminded her that she and the girls had a training day scheduled with Sweet Cider tomorrow morning. She was actually looking forward to it. 

“Do you, um, want me to walk with you to Discord’s?” Twilight asked, and she held up the odd stone Wallflower had, “Oh, and just to double check, you really don’t mind me holding onto this?”

“It’s fine. Just let me know what you learn about it. And heck yeah I’d like some company. Feel like we don’t get enough time to chat, Twilight.”

Just as the pair began their way out of the alley, Sunset reached up to touch the skull emblem on her robes. Upon contact the emblem flashed white, and all of Sunset’s outfit began to glimmer with translucent, fiery orange spirit energy. In moments her Soul Reaper garb had turned into raw streams of light that poured into Sunset. When it was done, the skull emblem had become a small, palm sized metal token, and Sunset Shimmer was left wearing a normal civilian outfit of blue slacks and black boots, along with a tight fitting orange shirt underneath her customary dark leather jacket. 

She tossed the skull token up and caught it with a smile, “Got to hand it to Discord, he’s good at making useful items. I didn’t even feel a difference in power.”

Twilight’s interest was clear in the intensity of her sparkling eyes as she looked at the token, “So you didn’t leave your physical body behind to use your powers?”

“Well, with Chappy being all independent now, I can’t rely on her to take over my body. Discord made this as an alternative. Basically cloaks my real body in my Soul Reaper powers. That’s why the outfit looks a bit different, kind of influenced by my personal tastes, which I guess involves shoulder pads. Go figure. Would’ve preferred a jacket.”

“You do love your jackets,” Twilight noted.

“They’re stylish. They’ll always be stylish. If I ever go back to Equestria for any amount of time, the one human thing I’m taking back with me is the jacket.”

Twilight gave out a huffing laugh that sounded tired to Sunset’s ears, like the other girl hadn’t slept in forever. Probably not far from the truth. At least Twilight seemed relaxed now, at least a little. Sunset was about to ask how research on a new Hexenfaust was going, but a beeping from her pocket alerted her to the fact that her communicator was going off. 

She fished out the communication device that Discord had made for her and the girls and flipped it open, “Sunset here. What’s up?”

“Darling, I do hope that spiritual pressure I felt from you just a minute ago wasn’t from any trouble?” asked Rarity’s voice, “I wanted to check, just in case.”

“Nah, I’m fine,” Sunset said and quickly updated Rarity on what had happened. Then she asked, “How’s Team Chappy and the Chappetes?” 

Rarity snorted a laugh, “I’m sure they’d hate that name. They’re...er, how do I put this...?”

Sunset heard a faint crash from the other end of the communicator and what she thought was Sweetie Belle’s voice faintly shouting, “Oh c’mon!”

“Sounds like they’re having a bit of trouble of their own.”

“Just a smidge, darling, but worry not, I shall step in if it gets out of hand. You sound like you and Twilight have your hands full with your damsel in distress. Go along to Discords, and I’ll join you there with our little charges once they finish up with these Hollows. Only a few of them left- oh, Sweetie Belle! Be careful with that car-” another loud crash and Rarity made a somewhat unladylike sound before saying, “I’ll call you back, Sunset. Be safe. Toddles.”

The communicator clicked off and Sunset just shook her head as she pocketed it. Twilight glanced at her sidelong, “That sounded... interesting.”

“Well, they’re kids with newly discovered superpowers, being helped by a wacko artificial soul who is still figuring out how her new body works. I’d say they’re doing about as well as we were when we first started off,” Sunset said, letting a bit of fond nostalgia wash over her as she continued down the streets with Twilight at her side. 

“It is kind of like that night, isn’t it?” Twilight said, her own tone taking on that quiet wistful air of one thinking back, “I can still remember crawling into that crater with you. Finding a mysterious katana nobody could see but you.”

Sunset patted Hokori no Hikari’s hilt, sighing contently, “Good times. Well, actually scary as hell times, but I kind of miss it. Not knowing all that we do now. Just going with the flow and trying to figure it all out.”

“Hm, we were carrying an unconscious green haired girl around back then, too,” Twilight noted, “How oddly coincidental.”

“Heh, well at least this one isn’t a Soul Reaper, although she has a mystery of her own about her,” Sunset said, only partially referring to the magical stone. From what Sunset gathered, Wallflower knew her, or at least had acted like it. Sunset wished she could remember from where, but no matter how hard she tired, she couldn’t recall a thing about Wallflower prior to today. 

Well, time enough to get answers and give them in return when she wakes up. Let’s just get her to Discord’s, and in the meantime hope Chappy and those girls don’t get into too much trouble.

----------

“We are in so much trouble!” Apple Bloom cried, looking with horror at the toppled SUV that was laying half planted in some poor person’s front yard. To make matters worse, a few of the nearby begonia bushes were on fire, and Apple Bloom wasn’t even sure how that happened, because the lime-colored SUV wasn’t anywhere near the bushes, and none of her friends had any fire-based powers anyway!

Oh, wait, she was the one with the kinda-sorta fire based powers. Well, her whip could heat up to become really hot, at any rate. Did she light those bushes on fire without realizing it? 

As Apple Bloom pondered this, looking at the whip that was her Fullbring in a questioning manner, one of the several remaining lesser Hollows that was a part of the general melee of chaos she and her friends had gotten mixed up in tried sneaking up on her. The Hollow had a elongated raven’s mask and four arms ending in scything insect claws, all attached to a worm-like body that undulated through the air. Just as the Hollow let out a shrill howl and aimed its disfigured beak at Apple Bloom’s back, there was a wild cry from above and a form came drilling down from atop a street lamp.

“Waatttaaaaah!”

Bright red boots with black heels dug into the top of the Hollow’s head, crushing it to the concrete of the suburban cul de sac in a resounding crack. Apple Bloom jumped back from some broken, flying bits of street and flailed a bit before regaining her foot. “Yikes! Didn’t even see that fella comin’ up on me. Thanks Chappy!”

The figure in red struck a pose, knee up and standing on one foot while thrusting arms out at odd angles like a drunk monkey. She was a girl of an age with Sunset Shimmer. In fact one could easily have mistaken this individual for a sister of Sunset’s, with the same yellow skin tone and blue eyes. However there were distinct differences. While the girl had long burnished red hair, she had a pink stripe in place of sunset’s yellow, and tied her hair into twin tails done up almost like rabbit ears. Her outfit also accentuated the fact that while she shared Sunset’s height, she was a tad thicker around the chest, so to speak. Her outfit was hardly civilian norm, consisting of a bright red jumpsuit with tall, knee high boots of the same coloring, and sporting similar gloves that went up to the elbow. A white cap billowed out from her shoulders, bearing a big red “C” on it. While her hair flowed naturally, her head was still wearing a rounded white helmet with an odd red V at the top, with a blue visor that fell down over her eyes. Finally, a gold watch on her left wrist completed Chappy’s outfit, or rather her uniform as the “Canterlot Riser”.

“Think nothing of it, citizen!” Chappy said in a faux officious voice as she snapped off a salute, “Just doing my heroly duty!”

“If you’re both done being ‘heroly’, we could really use help  over here!” shouted Sweetie Belle from across the cul de sac as she ran away from a Hollow with a spider’s huge, spindly body, but with the upper torso and skull mask of a moose with antlers that grew to spikes as large as spears. Sweetie Belle had already discharged the SUV she’d absorbed into her wand to use as a projectile weapon, which the spider-moose Hollow had dodged. Now she was out of ‘ammo’ and was just trying ot keep ahead of the Hollow’s deadly antlers!

“On it, small Rarity!” Chappy said, and coiled her legs under her. The uniform she wore wasn’t just for show, it was a special creation of Discord’s that helped harden her body with a reinforcement of spiritual energy, which she could concentrate in her limbs not unlike a Quncy’s Blut abilities. Her feet glowed blue as she charged spirit energy there, and unleashed it in a burst of speed and kicking power as she launched herself like a flying battering ram at the Hollow chasing Sweetie Belle.

Unfortunately this Hollow was canny enough to see her coming and halted it’s momentum just enough to wheel its antlers around, using one set of them to block Chappy’s kick. However the power behind Chappy’s feet was astounding, for a mere Mod Soul, and the antler’s broke off like a snapped twig. The Hollow let out a shriek and raised piercing spider legs to try and stab at Chappy, but she dodged back with a few swift jumps, which allowed Apple Bloom to rush in from the right with her crimson whip already spinning.

The whip blossomed with heat, turning bright with glowing potency as Apple Bloom snapped the weapons forward and took off one of the Hollow’s legs.

“Hah! How ya like that, ya ugly varmint!?”

The Hollow turned its remaining antler towards her and the protrusion of bone suddenly grew out like a bolt fired from a crossbow. Apple Bloom let out a yelp as she ducked, then a series of blue arrows swept in from the side, blasting the antler spikes before they could strike her.

“Don’t any of  you know how to evade besides the rabbit!?” shouted Silver Spoon, who’d emerged from down the street, her spectacles fogged over with perspiration as if she’d been running a marathon. Which wasn’t too far from the truth. She’d been working non-stop during this patrol to keep the relatively green and inexperienced members of the team alive. Not that she was that much more experienced than the rest of them, but she was the only one with any formal training for this. 

“We’re trying, okay!? This is hard!” Sweetie Belle shouted back, turning her ornate wand towards a nearby manhole cover. The misty light of her wand shot out like a stream of will o’ wisps, and sucked in the thick metal sewer cover in an instant. Sweetie Belle then spun her wand around to aim at the Hollow and released the same heavy metal cover like a flying disc shot from a cannon.

Credit where it was due, the impact of the manhole cover bowed the Hollow over. Normally mundane physical attacks with non-spiritual objects would do little harm to a Hollow, but Sweetie Belle had discovered any object her wand absorbed in turn coated that object with her reiatsu, turning anything her wand touched into an effective projectile. 

“It’s down, hit it everybody!” Chappy said, leaping up into a somersault that then turned into a descending kick right onto the overturned Hollow’s gut.

Applebloom and Silver Spoon both followed up with attacks of their own, the heated whip snapping into the Hollow’s side while a barrage of a dozen arrows pierced it from the other. With a pained cry, the Hollow spasmed and then went still, its body fading to black as it dissipated. 

“Is... is that the last one?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking around fearfully. 

There was a crashing noise as a huge Hollow’s body smacked into the street about ten feet to Sweetie Belle’s right, and the girl screamed, but then calmed down as she saw the Hollow was already headless and its body vanishing into black ash. From above there was a swirl of wind as the humongous form of the stone bird, Alerion, descended to make a heavy landing in the middle of the cul de sac. Atop her Bount Doll, Scootaloo waved, “Me and Aile got the last of ‘em, I think!”

Silver Spoon paused, briefly closing her eyes in focus as she spread out her spiritual senses. “Hmm, I think you’re right. I’m not sensing any more Hollows nearby.”

“Oh thank God!” Sweetie Belle said, collapsing to her knees, breathing in deeply and letting it out in a ragged, “Aaaaah!”

“Ya okay there, Sweetie Belle?” asked Apple Bloom, and her friend just waved her hand at her.

“Yeah. Dandy. Fantastic. Totally not about to throw up.”

Chappy, beaming a smile bright enough to make the nighttime cul de sac seem like daylight, came over and gave the girl a big slap on the back, “Blow chunks if you need to, Canterlot Pink, you still did great! The Canterlot Risers are victorious!”

“Oh for the love of- None of us agreed to that as a team name,” Sweetie Belle said, “And why am I ‘Pink’?”

“That’s obvious, you’re the small Rarity,” Chappy said, as if that explained everything, “Apple Bloom is Canterlot Blue because she’s always charging in and that’s what lancers do. Scootaloo is Canterlot Black because it’s the second coolest color besides red. Silver Spoon is Canterlot Yellow because it’s the only color left besides red, and I’m obviously Canterlot Red because I’m the leader and my outfit is red. It’s all very logical and fair.”

Silver Spoon, pointedly ignoring Chappy, went to help Sweetie Belle up with an offered hand and shoulder to lean on. The young Quincy girl’s eyes were as steel serious as her tone, “You don’t have to push yourself so hard if this is getting to be too much. Let me and the rabbit idiot take more of the front line, next time.”

Sweetie Belle shook her head, wiping her mouth, “I’ll be okay. I need to get used to this. Can’t let my sister keep... protecting me.”

There was a wealth of pain in the girl’s voice for a second, Sweetie Belle’s eyes gaining a haunted quality before she reiterated, “I’m fine. Uh, has anyone noticed that nobody is looking outside their windows?”

It was true, despite the damage and noise of the fight, the homes around the cul de sac remained either dark or at least showed no signs of people coming outside or looking out their windows to see what was happening. 

“Thank me for that,” said Silver Spoon, patting the thick white cloak she wore, “Aside from these cloaks we Quincy favor to stay invisible to mundane eyes, we have a fairly simple alchemic technique to suppress noise in a select area.” She pointed out the shroud of faint, white light that encased the cul de sac and most of the surrounding yards, not quite touching the houses but otherwise creating a cylindrical barrier around the area. 

“Nifty,” Apple Bloom said, but Silver Spoon just shrugged.

“Pretty sure the Soul Reapers have Kido that does the same kind of thing, so it’s nothing special. Still, we should probably get out of here quickly before somebody does  notice and we end up having to explain why half the street and someone’s car is ruined.”

“I feel so bad about the SUV. Those things aren’t cheap,” Sweetie Belle said, but Silver Spoon waved her off.

“Relax. Quincy have procedures for handling reparations for damages caused in fights within civilian areas. The street damages will be taken care of with donations to city funds, and any family that suffered monetary damages will find their insurance companies quite compliant and generous in compensating them.”

“Yeesh, ya Quincy got yer fingers in all the pies, don’t ya?” Apple Bloom noted, to which Silver Spoon didn’t fail to preen slightly and flip her braid in a pleased manner.

“We make a point of it, yes.”

“You guys think the rest of the city is clear of Hollows too?” asked Scootaloo, “Maybe we ought to go do a sweep, just to make sure?”

“That won’t be needed,” said Rarity as the older girl flickered into view and appeared before the group. She was fully manifest with her Fullbring, white dress and crystalline sword in hand, but there were none of her knights present nor the giant crimson gate that summoned them. Still, for the younger, less experienced girls it was almost oppressive, even the passive reiatsu that poured off of Rarity was like being pushed down by the weight of a calm ocean. None of them had sensed her approach or seen her movement in front of them. It was a sobering reminder of the level of difference between the newbie team and the older girls who’d taken up the charge of defending Canterlot City.

“H-hey Rarity. You were, um, watching the whole time?” Sweetie Belle asked. She’d known that her sister and her friends would be out there tonight. When the big group of Hollows had shown up, seemingly out of nowhere, the CMC, Chappy, and Silver Spoon had already been out doing a patrol for training purposes with Rarity following them. Rather than sweep the Hollows away, which Rarity could have easily done, she’d suggested taking advantage of the situation to let the girls get some live practice in, with the promise she’d be nearby in case things really went south.

Rarity’s eyes were kind as she nodded to Sweetie Belle, “I was, Sweetie, and while I might have a few pointers to hand out to you all, I think everyone performed well tonight.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sweetie Belle said, but Scootaloo was quick to jump in with her own enthusiasm.

“Don’t get down, Sweetie Belle, you did awesome tonight, just like the rest of us. Sure we’re not big league butt kickers like your big sis and her pals are, but we totally busted some Hollows tonight, and I say that’s pretty swanky of us.”

Alerion rolled his gem eyes and grumbled, “I busted Hollows. You rode on my back and shouted incoherently like a shrill, miniature hyperactive barnacle.”

“Well we all bring our own skills to the team,” Scootaloo defended, and both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle let out laughs alongside their friend, while Chappy grinned at Rarity.

“So we done for the night, Rares?” Chappy asked, “I could stand to go a few more rounds, but if you gals have cleaned house everywhere else already...”

“We’re done here, yes,” Rarity said, “Sunset dispatched the ringleader, and I’ve been in contact with the others to confirm that the other areas of the city have been swept of Hollow presence. We’ll return to Discord’s for rest and recuperation.”

“Sounds good to me!” Chappy said and her finger pressed a button on the side of the gold watch she wore. In a flash of red light the “Canterlot Riser” outfit vanished and Chappy was left wearing a bright red tank top, black jeans, and red sneakers. “I can tell Discord all about how cool this watch works! I didn’t even need to use all of it’s features! Oh man, I’m hungry now. Gonna eat soooo much when we get home.”

“Do be careful, darling. You own that body of yours, now, so you must deal with all of the consequences that come with it,” Rarity reminded the hedonistic Mod Soul, but Chappy just laughed and started walking off down the street, listing off food items she planned to eat upon returning to Discord’s shop. Meanwhile Alerion took to the sky, but Scootaloo stayed on the ground after hopping off of him so she could walk with her friends. 

As they made their way as a group back down the suburban streets, Sweetie Belle fell in next to Rarity, almost protectively close. Rarity reached out her hand and grasped Sweetie Belle’s as they walked, her younger sister whispering once Chappy was a good distance ahead of the group.

“I don’t get why she got a gigai first instead of you,” Sweetie Belle said, and Rarity squeezed her hand.

“It wasn’t a question of who got what first, Sweetie. Chappy’s gigai was just easier for Discord to make, since she’s a Mod Soul designed to adapt to any body she gets put into. I’m a bit different, given he has to very specifically calibrate a gigai for me, and ensure it will be as comfortable for my soul to inhabit as possible, and even then it won’t really be as compatible as the body I was born with. Even if Chappy didn’t get a gigai, the amount of time it’d take to make mine wouldn’t have changed.”

Sweetie Belle didn’t say anything to that, and just silently brooded as she walked alongside her sister. Rarity suppressed a sigh and tried not to worry too much. Her sister was doing her best to deal with things, just like they all were. Rarity normally wouldn’t have dreamed of letting the children put themselves in danger fighting Hollows so early in their training, but she consoled herself with the knowledge that at any point had things proceeded too far, Rarity had the speed and power to instantly annihilate any of those Hollows without so much as an half breath of effort. Even the seemingly close calls Apple Bloom had had weren’t actually that dangerous, as Rarity had hidden crystalline daggers floating invisibly nearby to intervene if Chappy and Silver Spoon hadn’t stepped in. 

But the girls, sadly, needed this kind of push. There just wasn’t time for them to take the slow route in training, if they were so determined to help. Fighting lesser Hollows was no different than what Rarity herself, alongside her friends, had gone through. It was a difficult but needed step, and while the younger girls might not feel like they were getting stronger, Rarity had to admit she could sense the difference. Her little sister’s spiritual pressure had been barely nascent during the events at Camp Everfree, but now, after only a few scuffles and training sessions, she could tell Sweetie Belle’s reiatsu was growing sharper and denser. Sweetie Belle herself likely had no idea how impressive it was that her reiatsu had turned a manhole cover into a projectile that had knocked over a multi-ton Hollow. Apple Bloom probably didn’t realize that her whip was hitting strong enough to kill most weaker Hollows in just a few hits. And Scootaloo’s Doll was potent by itself, never mind that Scootaloo was getting stronger bit by bit as Discord offered alternative means for the Bount living at his shop to feed on spirit energy. 

I should be glad they’re getting stronger, so they can better protect themselves, but I never wanted this for you Sweetie Belle. I never wanted you to have to battle beasts in the dark, Rarity thought, her melancholy reinforced by the sure knowledge that things were only going to escalate, perhaps far too fast for her little sister and her friends to reasonably catch up. Rarity had no desire for Sweetie Belle to stand on the front lines of the battles to come, she just wanted her to be able to take care of herself in the event that Rarity, new gigai or not, didn’t survive whatever was coming. 

Her experience with Hoity Toity was enough to teach her not to assume anything about survival any longer, the weight of her soul chain hidden beneath her armored dress a keen reminder that nothing was ever certain. 

----------

“Boss, have I ever told you that you take us to the nicest places?”

Di Roy’s forceful cheer echoed in an ineffectual zing off of the thicket of dead trees. So many dry, cracked spears of wooden none-tree sprung up around them that the forest path appeared to Adagio’s eyes like a prison corridor. Sharp, pointed tree limbs, like the overhanging blades of a funeral procession, crept from the corners of the densely packed forest. Sand and dirt, leached of all color save endless white, crunched under her feet. In the few, narrow spaces left between calcified tree branches devoid of leaves, she could see the enormity of dark, shadowed cliffs, cracked through with ravines so deep and dark that she imagined she could lose herself forever within them.

Above, Hueco Mundo’s moon hung endless, eternal, a silver crescent upon stainless black. 

Gaw’s nose twitched furiously, her face screwed up in distaste as her clawed hands wrapped tight around the hilt of her blade, slung over broad shoulders. The Arrancar girl had filled out over the past few days, lean, gangly muscle stretching out into a taller, leaner frame of not-quite amazonian proportions. Adagio had convinced Gaw that her new size befitted larger garments, albeit not by much. Gaw still detested the feeling of fabric on her skin, so kept to a simple cloth wrapping around her chest and loose, breezy skirt around her waist that didn't restrict the movement of her bronzed legs. Power was the key to her change, the Seed that Adagio had dispersed among her most loyal vassals, having lent newfound strength to them. Gaw, physically the youngest, had grown with that power, and now stood taller than Adagio herself, her mane of red hair grown even longer and untamed. Adagio had been considering the wrestling match that might ensue to get Gaw to tend to her hair to any degree, but perhaps the wild look added some weight to the intimidation factor of the closest thing she had to a right-hand enforcer. 

“Everything stinks here,” Gaw pointed out, “Death, more than just the normal kind.”

Adagio had sensed it too, more than smelt it. This forest, stretching out for hundreds of miles in a valley surrounded by sheer black cliffs, all but quietly hummed with a background tingling of cold and uncompromising death. It was an aura of miasmic reiatsu stemming from a singular source, somewhere at the center of this realm, and Adagio homed in upon it like a chill, pale beacon. 

“I sincerely doubt the lord of this place didn’t intend for it to be sufficiently foreboding as to ward off troublesome guests,” she said, not breaking her confident forward momentum, a strutting stride that all but dared someone or something to try and bar her path. “Be that as it may, do look alive you two. I doubt our arrival has gone unnoticed.”

“Yeeeah, been meaning to point out that we’ve had tails since we showed up at the edge of this creepy ass place,” Di Roy said, his eyes shifting left and right to mark out the faint wisps of motion in the distance amid the trees, “I count eight... maybe nine.”

“Nine,” Gaw corroborated, a light growl purring in her throat, “None strong enough to be threatening. We kill them easy if they attack.”

“They’re likely just servants. They know what I am,” Adagio said, her cape having been thrown across one shoulder to keep her back, and the number “6” tattooed there exposed, “And they know to stand in my way would be suicide.”

“Unless they’re just waiting for their own boss to send in reinforcements,” Di Roy pointed out, unable to keep some small nervousness out of his tone, although he managed to cocky grin regardless, “Guess it was ballsy of you to come here with just me and Gaw as escort. Has to make old Erebus a tad nervous himself, wondering what an Esapda is doing walking into Asphodel practically alone.”

Asphodel. As Adagio recalled, in Greek mythology it was one of the layers of Tartarus. A fair enough name for a Privaron Espada’s realm, although it made Adagio wonder if this Erebus character was directly related to the deity of Greek myth, or merely an Arrancar who took the name for the credit. The information she had on Erebus was limited to the location of his realm, with little on his personality or power. Yet his was among the realms closest to Tirek’s sphere of influence, with other Privaron having established territories in even further flung locations across Hueco Mundo. That either bespoke of foolishness or confidence in one’s power, either way Adagio wanted to take the man’s measure while the opportunity was available. 

She didn’t have a lot of time to spare. Tirek was gathering forces in Las Noches. Every Espada was under orders to draw in hordes of lesser Hollows, Adjuchas and Gillians, and she’d even heard that Catrina had been assigned to go further afield in search of unaligned Vasto Lordes that might still roam Hueco Mundo’s furthest wastelands. Las Noches was becoming dangerously crowded, and the area around the fortress was teaming with packs of Hollows that were just barely tolerating each other due to Tirek’s influential aura of power.

It was obvious the lord of Las Noches was gearing up for a big move, and Adagio needed to move quickly herself if she was going to be ready in time to capitalize on it. There was a risk in coming here herself, she knew. There was the chance that any Privaron Espada she sought to meet would simply attack her without taking the time to hear her out, of course, but even riskier was that her absence from Las Noches could be discovered and questioned. Fortunately she had Thorax as an ally to run interference in that regard, for while he did need to keep up appearances in the guise of his mother, he could also appear here and there as Adagio and maintain the illusion that she remained in her territory at Las Noches while she made these excursions into Hueco Mundo’s far flung lands. 

It was still possible someone like Grogar might see through the ruse, or that the likes of Guto might make a move on her regardless, but those were risks Adagio felt she had to take. 

The forest grew, if anything, even darker and more oppressive when it opened up into a wide basin that dropped down into a cleft in the pale earth that was dozens of meters wide and spread out in broken edges for far as Adagio could see in either direction. Darkness seemed to creep up from the abyssal blackness of the cleft like a seeping wound, and try as she might Adagio could see no light penetrate the well of shadows below. 

Yet it took not great use of her Pesquisa to sense the presence of a powerful Hollow. The smaller presences that had been trailing her and her companions were like fish following in the shadow of a whale by comparison. She smirked, feeling eyes upon her. Without showing a hint of hesitation in her stride she went to the edge of the gloom filled cleft and placed one hand firmly on her wide hip while keeping a firm grip on her trident with the other. Her voice echoed in honey laden jest as she said, “If all you’re going to do is look, I don’t mind it, but I did come here to speak with you, Erebus of Asphodel. I am Adagio Dazzle, Sixth Espada, and if you fear I am here on business from Lord Tirek, then let me first assure you that he does not know I am here. My business with you is my own.”

The cleft swallowed her words and all was silent for a time. Behind her she could just barely hear the breathing of Di Roy and Gaw, the former shifting on his feet with a nervous grimace while the later bristled with yellow eyes glaring challenge towards any that might seek to attack. 

Then she perceived a change in the shadows below. A boil of darkness, rising upward as the rest of the cleft’s deeper darkness crawled upward over the lip like a hungry if slowly advancing tide. A voice rose up as well, masculine but weary, deep but more the weight of a grave than the power of a mountain. It was the voice of a strong but wary old man, readying himself to lecture some annoying children. 

“Fear? I do not fear, be you here at Tirek’s behest, or on your own foolhardy venture. I merely watch, bemused that you’d enter my realm with such boldness.”

The boiling shadow that rose like a geyser of obsidian water resolved into a physical shape, stepping forth across the air towards the edge of the cleft where Adagio stood. Black cloaked him like a vast cape, shifting and trailing jagged edges of darkness, but she saw the cloth material underneath. His frame was tall, broad shouldered, but somehow thin, like the emaciated trees of his realm. White hair that was frayed at the edges spilled down his back, longer than her own, and combed neatly. His flesh, where she could see it, was a pallid, gray tint, like an old corpse, with a pointed jawline. His upper face was covered by his Arrancar bone fragment, which was actually much more of a full mask, as if a skull had become an opera mask that covered the upper top section of his head, leaving only just enough room for his long mane of hair to spill out. Red eyes glinted with dangerous amusement from within that half-skull mask, and the man halted just at the edge of his cleft, staring down at her, for he stood about a solid foot taller than Adagio did.

She saw no Zanpaktou on him, but sensed it was there, hidden in the depths of that cloak that covered him. 

“Erebus, I presume? You’ll forgive me if I don’t offer a hand to shake. I imagine you’re not interested in pleasantries.”

Amused air escaped his dry lips, less a laugh and more an incredulous sigh, “I am debating how long to tolerate your presence before feasting on you and your servants' souls, so you presume correctly that I am not interested in pleasantries, Adagio Dazzle. You had best speak quickly of whatever madness has drawn you here, for my own patience will not last long, I assure you.”

If she felt threatened by his words she made a point of not showing it, maintaining her ease as she spoke, “I can get to the point if that is what you prefer, although I would like to confirm one or two things, to satiate my curiosity. I’ll risk your lack of patience. First of all, Erebus... Erebus, a name from the pages of mythology. Tell me, are you truly the Greek deity of darkness, or are you an Arrancar who took the name because it sounded good?”

Her words were meant to be barbed. She was ready, sharpening her reiatsu before she was even done speaking. Her senses were micro-filament razors, feeling his ire, his killing intent as the darkness around him solidified into drilling points of solid spiritual energy. He coated himself in his reiatsu, those shadows as much a part of him as flesh and blood. Yet as physical objects, they could be stopped, and so when the flood of pointed, jagged shadow rushed her, she gestured with her hand and an equal flood of super-pressurized water blasted forth from around her, conjured into being from her raw spirit energy.

Shadow and water clashed, and Adagio briefly enjoyed his look of surprise. Another shadow user. If he had a scythe, Adagio would start to fear she had a pattern for her opponents. Her pressurized jets of water halted his shadows, and she flooded the area around her further, conjuring a great swirl of water that crackled with blue arcs of her energy. Gaw and Di Roy did not draw their swords, remaining still amid the still eye of the storm, as she had bade them before they’d even entered the forest.

“Erebus,” Adagio said as she let her reiatsu pour outward to hammer against his own, “You are a Privaron Espada, and have been far from Las Noches for many ages. I know not if you’re the original bearer of your name or merely a pretender, but either way know that I am not to be intimidated by your posturing! I earned my title with blood and deed, and if you wish to simply fight, know I’ll just as gladly devour your soul as you threatened to do to mine. But, if you are wise, and willing, then let us speak as equals. My business with you need not end with your death.”

For a few moments the clash of their spirit energies filled the vast and dark vale, water and shadows poised against one another in a crackling standoff.

Then Erebus’s crimson eyes narrowed and without a motion from his still, dark form, his shadows withdrew. Similarly Adagio withdrew her water, letting the conjured substance fall around her in a dripping flood. Erebus’ mouth twitched in something almost like a smile, but the irritation was still clear in the slit of his eyes.

“You have power, I shall not deny that, boisterous woman. I may yet consider it worth devouring you, even if I must admit you appear able to give me a fight. Perhaps a fight is what I desire, to provide some passing amusement. But you’ve earned a few extra moments of my time. Just what ‘business’ do you presume to have with me?”

To this, Adagio flashed a blinding smile, more a barring of teeth than anything else as her own eyes shone with eagerness, “Why, quite simply the downfall of ‘Lord’ Tirek.”